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Saturday, May 22, 2010

Zapiro's M&G cartoon, May 21 2010

"My view is no cartoon is as insulting to Islam as the assumption Muslims will react with violence."When [M&G editor-in-chief Nic] Dawes first saw the cartoon he said he thought it "a gentle and irreverent poke" at the hysteria that had greeted the Facebook page. This week Pakistan ordered all internet service providers to block Facebook, as well as YouTube for carrying "un-Islamic content".Dawes recounted how he received a call from an attorney from the council at about 8.30pm on Thursday night -- after the distribution process of the Friday paper had begun. "He asked for an undertaking that we would stop distribution of the paper and remove the cartoon."Dawes pointed out that this was impossible, and that in any event the M&G would not do so. By 11.30pm the newspaper's advocate had been pulled out of a dinner party and Dawes, along with the paper's investigation unit, found himself in the South Gauteng High Court ready to defend the M&G's right to freedom of speech. However, the council, or Jamiatul Ulama as it is also known, failed to provide the necessary papers for the M&G to answer. It presented verbal evidence, but the judge ruled the interdict failed in terms of urgency, as the newspaper was already available in some outlets and the cartoon had already been published on the M&G Online.It was a case of trying to close the stable doors long after the horse had bolted, the newspaper's counsel pointed out. Furthermore, the judge found that the newspaper's rights had been compromised by not being provided with founding papers advising what the case against it was. While the council pleaded with the judge not to throw the case out on technical grounds, she answered that "as a judge and as a Muslim I am bound by our constitution and the rules of our courts".Earlier, the judge made a decision to not recuse herself, saying her own religious background wouldn't influence her.

Violent backlashThe Council of Muslim Theologians is the same organisation that succeeded in preventing the Sunday Times in 2006 from republishing the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet. During Thursday's application the council repeatedly raised the spectre of a violent backlash, saying that the timing of the cartoon was bad because of a possible threat to the Soccer World Cup. It added that while it wouldn't advocate violence, it couldn't necessarily guarantee that there wouldn't be any. "We very much saw that as a threat, and our counsel vigorously objected," said Dawes. The judge upheld the objection. While the council was unhappy with the court's decision, it agreed to meet Dawes to take the discussion forward. "The M&G is a platform for debate," Dawes emphasised, adding that everyone was welcome to engage in debate and discussion with the paper. "My view is no cartoon is as insulting to Islam as the assumption Muslims will react with violence."However, he also noted that had the cartoon been in any way Islamophobic, or crossed the line in terms of hate speech and racism, he would not have published it. But Zapiro's cartoons, he said, offend many people. Many noted that the award-winning South African political cartoonist, whose pen has repeatedly and poignantly exposed corrupt politicians and various hypocrisies in the public sphere, could have been far harsher if he wished. As Dawes said: "If we had to pull every Zapiro cartoon that offended someone we wouldn't have any Zapiro cartoons in the newspaper."

charles king

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and watch the sunrise,following the mountainsto where they touch the sky,out of the vastness and the depths of the ocean, and to think for a momentthe point of it all is to make much of me?because i'm just a whisperand YOU are the thunder...

don't die of shame

Poet Antjie Krog stressed that a writer should not concern themselves as to whether they are read or not, since “one writes so that you don’t die of shame, that you didn't say something when a girl is cut up somewhere in a parking lot and raped … You know that a poem will achieve nothing, but at least you will get through the night - André Naffis-Sahely

apathy WARNING!

Apathy neutralises the sensesas survival deploys its brutal forces one gets cutoff from others and becomes more and morefamiliar with the complete inward-turning of death –*stanza from “On My Behalf” in poet Antjie Krog’s 'Skinned' anthology

what is writing

What is writing if not an exercise in recuperating memory? It is stopping to listen – of consciously being alive and attentive. Memory is the mentor of imagination, as stars are its vectors. The discipline of writing is also a great gift, a freedom – by writing one is gradually relieved of the sense of uniqueness of self. It is in many ways a liberating shuffle in the direction of humility -from a letter Dominique Botha had written to her parents to explain her thoughts behind the writing of her (2013) novel, False River

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about writers

'Stray lines from Breyten Breytenbach’s Intimate Stranger about writers being the “scattered or lost tribe of the world” and how when they meet, they “recognize one another by a look in the eyes as if squinting against the sun, and by the clumsy gestures of hands.”'- Andre Naffis-Sahely in A World of Sharp Edges

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inspiration

German writer Heinrich Böll because he embodied that rare combination of political awareness, artistic creativity, and moral integrity which remains a model for future generations. The courage to stand up for one's beliefs; encouragement to meddle in public affairs; and unconditional activism in support of dignity and human rights were characteristics of the writer Böll.